“Go borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors. . . . Go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” 2 Kings 4:3–4 (NASB)
Have you ever felt hopeless? Swept away by the demands and pressures of life? The woman in this Scripture was at the end of her rope. Her husband had died, and left her with a heap of debt and no income. Creditors were threatening to take her sons as payment for her bills, and in a moment of utter helplessness, she cries out to the prophet Elisha. He tells her to go bang on her neighbors’ doors, borrowing any kind of container they may have. She probably felt embarrassed going door-to-door looking for containers, but desperate people are willing to do desperate things . . . and she was desperate!
This month has been stressful as we’ve been trying to raise funds for our ministry in Uganda. I would rather scrub toilets than ask people for money. On top of that, fund-raising events cost a lot to put on—and we need to fill the room just to break even. With three weeks to go we’re only half full . . . and I’m feeling desperate.
Every day I try to get the word out about the event any way I can. I even started calling it our “oil offering” as I remember this dear woman and the state of her heart. The more we bang on doors and collect containers, the more Jesus promises to fill them. The only hindrance to His filling is when we sit tight and don’t move toward faithfully trusting Him to fill our containers—regardless of how scared we feel or empty we come.
Faith Step: Set a small jar on your desk, counter, or bedside table with a little note that says: “As much as I faithfully collect—God will fill.”
